


Where We Left Off

by hashtag_anthems



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Established Relationship, Happy New Years!, M/M, Pre-Timeskip relationship, Slight Canon Divergence, because there's kind of an, but like... barely, ferdinand is flustered, hubert is... he's just acting like hubert, i hope these boys are as cute as i wanted them to be, is implied but the fic is set post-timeskip, new years fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:53:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22073560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hashtag_anthems/pseuds/hashtag_anthems
Summary: Professor Byleth has returned to them safely, they've won their first battle since reuniting, and now it's the eve before a new year. Things have changed, some for the better, and Ferdinand needs some time to consider things that might have changed for the worse.
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 2
Kudos: 52





	Where We Left Off

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MidoriMint](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidoriMint/gifts).



> This is a late Christmas present (and it's only half, but I still have to buy the other half orz). I tried writing a reincarnation au, but it ended up really depressing so I wrote this instead. The reincarnation au will come later.

“What are you doing here?”

Ferdinand swore under his breath, despite himself. He was sure that Hubert had found a way to simply float wherever he wanted to go. There was no other explanation for the way he could move without making a sound. It was almost… inhuman.

“Someone might think you’re up to something, you know. All alone, out here when the rest of the monastery is celebrating,” Hubert mused.

“I could say the same to you, seeing how you are out here with me.” Ferdinand turned back to the sky, which had been unseasonably clear all night. The stars shone clearly, brighter than he expected.

“Regardless, you shouldn’t be out here. You should be inside, resting. Just because Linhardt was able to heal your worst injuries doesn’t mean you can get out of resting.” Hubert pulled himself up next to Ferdinand on the stone ledge lining the bridge. “You never could sit still for even a moment. I had hoped that in five years you might have acquired a more prominent sense of self-preservation.”

“Are you talking to me or to yourself?” Ferdinand asked with a soft laugh. “You didn’t come out of that battle unscathed either.”

“Well, while we’re both here, we might as well stay and… enjoy the view.”

“It is the last day of the year. You know I like to go stargazing every year, when the weather permits,” Ferdinand said.

“I’m aware. I believe I found you in this exact spot… five years ago. It was right after…”

“It is amazing, how much change five years can bring.” Ferdinand could remember the night in question, when the valley below was more… lively. When the people still lived there, unafraid of the war, of bandits, of… life. “Merely a month ago, I never would have thought…”

“I don’t think any of us expected the professor to return,” Hubert agreed, though not with the sentiment Ferdinand was expressing. “To think, they survived for five years, inches from death…”

“That is… not what I was referring to.” Ferdinand chanced a glance in Hubert’s direction. He was staring up at the sky, eyes fixed on the stars. That would certainly make it easier to approach the subject that Ferdinand _was_ referring to. “I _am_ glad that the professor has returned to us safely, make no mistake. I just… have other things on my mind, I suppose.”

“Oh?” Ferdinand could hear a tinge of amusement in Hubert’s voice. “Such as?”

“Do not sound so excited. I still have not decided if I want to tell you about it.” Ferdinand looked to the sky as well. It was easier to gather his thoughts when he wasn’t looking directly at the subject of them. “I have just… been thinking about everything that has changed, and what may have changed…”

“Ferdinand, you have never been one to stall. Spit it out.” Hubert was ginning, and Ferdinand had to wonder if he was enjoying this. It would be creepy if Ferdinand didn’t know Hubert as well as his did. Or had…

“This attitude of yours isn’t helping matters!”

Hubert turned sharply to look at him, to _really_ look at him. The grin vanished, replaced by a furrowed brow and a frown. He almost looked… concerned.

“What?” Ferdinand asked. What could have caused such an abrupt change in his mood?

“You said it ‘isn’t helping.’ Not that it ‘is not’ helping. You said ‘isn’t.’”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Am I not speaking formally enough to the Minister of the Imperial Household?”

“You speak ridiculously formally with everyone. And you just said ‘I’m.” Not ‘I am.’ ‘I’m.’” Hubert was studying him like a specimen he was getting ready to experiment on. “You never use contractions, unless you’re nervous, or flustered.” Was he actually concerned?

“You, of all people, _would_ notice that kind of thing…” Ferdinand muttered. “It’s a little strange.”

“There’s something bothering you. _It’s_ not strange to notice something so obvious. What is it?”

“It’s just – _it is_ just that… it has been five years since most of us have seen each other, and… I don’t – _do not_ know – ”

Ferdinand froze when he felt a puff of warm breath on his cheek. Hubert was less than an inch from his face, lips barely parted. His cheeks were dusted the lightest pink, which stood out in stark contrast to his ghostly pale skin. If the heat flaring beneath Ferdinand’s skin was anything to go by, he was probably as red as the Imperial banners hung up around the monastery.

“Don’t stop on my account. Go on.”

“You have to realize how creepy this is!” Ferdinand chuckled, if only to give himself a moment’s respite to gather his thoughts. “I… I think that I might have my answer. Emphasis on _might_ , but…” He could feel his heart racing, pounding in his ears and all the way down to his toes. He turned his head just a bit, so that he was actually facing Hubert. Their lips were a hair’s width away from touching. If one of them moved even the slightest bit.

“An answer to what?” Hubert’s grin returned, but it was… soft. The motion led their lips to touch ever so slightly, hardly enough to be considered a kiss, but… perhaps an invitation. “Don’t tell me that you were worried about _this_.”

“It _has_ been five years…” Ferdinand muttered. “I could not be sure that you still… I was surprised to see that you had returned at all, after…”

He trailed off when Hubert shifted just enough to bring them together in a _real_ kiss. Ferdinand could feel a tension he had not known he was carrying melt from his body. Hubert snaked an arm around Ferdinand’s waist, keeping a light enough grip that they both knew Ferdinand could break away if he wanted to, if Hubert had misjudged Ferdinand’s intentions. He didn’t want to. He wanted to sit here and marvel at how, in the middle of a war, Hubert’s lips were still soft and warm, kissing Ferdinand slowly and carefully, as though they weren’t in the middle of a war that brought out all of their rough edges and sharp corners. It was sweeter than circumstances should have permitted. It was familiar but filled with the nostalgia of revisiting old memories. It had been years since they had last stolen a kiss from each other, but it was exactly as Ferdinand remembered, and he wanted to live this memory out forever if he could.

He barely registered the clock tower chiming the hour, or the cheers from the rest of the monastery’s inhabitants. The bright green flash of light from the direction of the cathedral only barely made it through his closed eyes. He opened them when Hubert pulled away, grumbling.

“Who’s firing off wind spells?” he asked. He had turned away from Ferdinand to investigate. They watched together as a bright orange arrow of light shot into the sky, breaking off into a shower of embers far above Garreg Mach.

“It is past midnight,” Ferdinand noted as more spells flew through the sky to the cheers of their former classmates and the Imperial soldiers, illuminating the sky and the clock tower. “It is a few minutes into the new year. We do not have fireworks, so I would wager a guess that the mages are celebrating in their own way.”

“New Years or not, it is reckless. The monastery is in ruins, and one misplaced spell will burn the whole place down.” Hubert glared at a beam of white light soaring into the sky. “Or they’re going to turn us into a target. They can probably see this display all the way in Fhirdiad…”

“After today, they are in no position to act,” Ferdinand pointed out. “And if you are so worried about the monastery, why not lead by example and cast a few spells here, where there’s nothing to burn down?” He nudged Hubert and flashed him a playful grin. “Learn any new spells?”

“Hmm, a few.” Hubert held up a hand to show Ferdinand the violet light gathering around his fingers. As he held it up to the sky, the light solidified into a ball of dark purple energy that Hubert sent flying into the air. It exploded out into a cluster of spikes far above them and fizzled out. A new round of cheers reached them, and Ferdinand swore he could hear Caspar cheering above everything else. “Happy?” Hubert asked.

“Quite.” Ferdinand snuggled up next to Hubert, who put his arm back around Ferdinand’s waist as more spells flew through the air, creating quite a display. “Happy New Year, Hubert.” He leaned in to give Hubert a quick kiss on the cheek, content to go back to leaning against his side afterwards. Hubert caught his chin in his free hand, however, and leaned down to pick up where they had left off.

“Happy New Year, Ferdinand.”

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I have been suffering the worst writer's block for the past few weeks, and I finally broke it. Except I was more than halfway through this when I thought to look up the ages of the characters involved bc I kind of just assumed they were both adults pre-timeskip and found out that was kind of true? But Ferdinand was a lot younger than I thought he was. So like, if them being together at their canon ages is a problem, know that I legitimately thought they were closer in age and decided to just pretend they were because I couldn't bear to scrap this after over a month of not being satisfied with anything.


End file.
